Olam International

[sgd]

http://www.ocbcresearch.com/Article.aspx...2211_42594

[sgd]

how their business operations coping in that theatre? Food prices have gone crazy but freight charges have also gone up as borders are being tightened everybody is scared for their lives.

http://olamgroup.com/locations/west-central-africa/



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...ys-UN.html

The world's worst Ebola epidemic has put harvests at risk and sent food prices soaring in West Africa, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Tuesday, warning the problem would intensify in coming months.

The FAO issued a special alert for Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the three countries most affected by the outbreak, which has killed around 1,550 people since the virus was detected in the remote jungles of southeastern Guinea in March.

Restrictions on people's movements and the establishment of quarantine zones to contain the spread of the haemorrhagic fever has led to panic buying, food shortages and price hikes in countries ill-prepared to absorb the shock.

"Even prior to the Ebola outbreak, households in some of the most affected areas were spending up to 80 per cent of their incomes on food," said Vincent Martin, head of an FAO unit in Dakar which is coordinating the agency's response.

"Now these latest price spikes are effectively putting food completely out of their reach," Martin said in a statement, adding the food crisis could hinder containment of the disease, which is typically spread via the bodily fluids of the sick.

Rice and maize production will be scaled back during the fast-approaching main harvest season as migration and movement restrictions cause labour shortages on farms, FAO said.

Cash crops like palm oil, cocoa and rubber will be seriously affected, squeezing the purchasing power of many families, who will also lose income and nutrition due to the ban on bush meat.

Border crossing closures and the reduction of trade through seaports have tightened food supplies in the three countries, which are all net cereal importers, and propelled prices upwards, exacerbated by higher transport costs.

[greengiraffe]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/...m-20140910

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 10, 2014
Olam to build dairy processing plant in Uruguay for US$80m
BYANDREA SOH
sandrea@sph.com.sg @AndreaSohBT

OLAM International is ploughing in US$80 million to set up a new dairy processing facility in Uruguay, which it says will help it fully integrate its dairy supply chain.
The facility will have an initial capacity of 600,000 litres of milk a day, eventually reaching one million litres a day - the level that its dairy farms owned by subsidiary New Zealand Farming Systems Uruguay (NZFSU) are expected to reach.
The plant is expected to start operations in 2017, and will produce a range of dairy products from whole milk powder to butter. These will be exported to countries such as Russia, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa as well as neighbouring countries.
About US$5 million will go towards buying a 94 per cent stake in Uruguay-based BG Industria Láctea SA in order to acquire the land, licences and permits required to build the plant.

[greengiraffe]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/...s-20140927

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 27, 2014
Olam appoints Temasek-linked directors
BYJAMIE LEE
leejamie@sph.com.sg @JamieLeeBT

Spent 40 years at Uniliever Group before retiring in 2005
Singapore
OLAM International on Friday said that it has appointed Kwa Chong Seng, chairman of Neptune Orient Lines, as deputy chairman and independent director of the board. It has also appointed Nihal Vijaya Devadas Kaviratne as an independent director. The appointments take effect on Oct 1.
Both men have had experience on Temasek-linked boards.
Mr Kwa is also chairman of Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd and Fullerton Fund Management, as well as non-executive director of Singapore Exchange and Temasek Holdings' Seatown Holdings.

[sgd]

seems olam not only affected by west africa but with the ukraine situation too.

http://www.ofimagazine.com/news/view/ola...inst-ebola

[greengiraffe]

Olam Q1 profit dips 2.9% to S$44.3m
Group stays 'cautiously optimistic' about full-year outlook

By
Andrea Sohsandrea@sph.com.sg@AndreaSohBT
15 Nov5:50 AM
OLAM International's first-quarter net profit fell 2.9 per cent to S$44.3 million, as the company got caught out by drastic price movements in hazelnuts and the dairy business, and challenges in its upstream dairy business.

These could continue to affect the company for the next two

[greengiraffe]

wah so debt laden, no Temasek backing wonder how they can rollover...

http://www.theedgemarkets.com/en/node/170627

Olam secures multi-tranche loan facility of US$2.48 billion
By PC Lee / theedgemarkets.com | November 19, 2014 : 8:36 PM MYT
Printer-friendly versionSend by emailPDF version

SINGAPORE (Nov 19): Olam International, the agri-business supply chain manager, announced today that it has secured revolving credit and term loan facilities aggregating US$2.475 billion ($3.2 billion).

The facilities consist of three equal tranches of US$825 million each, with a 364-day revolving credit facility, a two-year revolving credit facility and a three-year term loan.

Proceeds from the facilities will be applied towards refinancing of existing debt and meeting working capital and general corporate funding requirements of the company.

A. Shekhar, Olam’s Executive Director of Finance and Business Development, said: “We are extremely pleased with the strong support and continuing commitment from our banking partners for this transaction. This multi-tranche facility will be used primarily to refinance existing short-term debt and replace it with a combination of short and medium term financing as part of our ongoing efforts to optimise our borrowing mix.”

Among the senior mandated lead arrangers appointed are DBS Bank, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Singapore Branch, ING Bank N.V., Singapore Branch, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Singapore Branch and NATIXIS, Singapore Branch.

Mandated lead arrangers for the facilities include Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Singapore Branch, Credit Suisse AG, Singapore Branch, Deutsche Bank AG, Singapore Branch and Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. (trading as Rabobank), Singapore Branch.

Olam closed 0.9% lower at $2.20.

[greengiraffe]

Olam buys US peanut sheller McCleskey Mills for US$176 million
Published on Dec 5, 2014 8:21 AM


SINGAPORE - Olam International Limited has inked a deal to buy 100 per cent of leading US peanut sheller, McCleskey Mills for US$176 million.

McCleskey is currently the third largest peanut sheller in the US with a market share of about 12 per cent and an annual capacity of approximately 250,000 farmer stock tons.

The acquisition is part of Olam's strategy to selectively invest in areas such as edible nuts.

McCleskey owns processing facilities at two locations in Georgia, which is the heart of the US' peanut growing region in the Southeast. It also has built long-standing relationships with a diverse set of customers in the snack, peanut butter and confectionery space.

[greentea]

http://businesstimes.com.sg/companies-ma...o-december

Olam changes fiscal year-end from June to December
By Teh Shi Ning tshining@sph.com.sg @TehShiNingBT
8 Jan 6:08 PM
OLAM International is changing its fiscal year-end from June 30 to December 31. This is to enable the company to comply with the group consolidation and reporting requirements of its majority shareholder.

[greentea]

http://businesstimes.com.sg/companies-ma...-marketing

Olam exits Australian wool business with sale of Western Wool Marketing
By Angela Tan angelat@sph.com.sg
12 Jan9:32 AM
OLAM International said on Monday that it has agreed to sell wool broker Western Wool Marketing to Quality Wool, marking the Singapore commodities group's exit from its niche Australian wool business....